Mini Tuna Tarts Recipes

We were hit by two snowy days last week. When it snow I like stay at home, curl up near the fireplace with a cup of hot Milo and watch TV. I’ve been watching so much TV especially the Food Channel, TLC and Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) until my head nearly go bonkers. So I decided to take a break from TV and bake something. I made these little mini tarts so we can have it for our afternoon tea.

These quick and flavorful tarts are easy to make. If you don’t feel like making the dough from scratch you can always use store bought short crust pastry or puff pastry. As for the filling, no cooking required. Just used canned tuna and a few other ingredients and you have fresh tarts with you tea. These tarts are great for entertaining too.

Ingredients:

Short crust pastry – refer to the recipe here

Filling:

2 cans of 6 oz tuna in water – drain well
1 tomato – roughly chopped
1 red chili – chopped (optional)
2 spring onions – cut small
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp low fat mayo
1 tsp mustard
2 tbsp ketchup
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Mix all the filling ingredients together and set it aside.
2. Roll out the dough thinly and cut out into circle using 2” or 2 ½” diameters round cookie cutter. Brush the edge with some egg, fill the center with a tsp of filling and cover the top with another piece of pastry. Seal edge with a fork.

3. Place it in a lined baking pan. With a sharp knife, cut 3 slit on top of the pie. Brush it with egg wash and bake in a pre-heated 375 degree F oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
4. Serve warm or at room temperatures.

Note: We are expecting another round of snow this evening until Wednesday. I will take some pictures and post it here.

Crispy, Sweet and Sticky Chicken Wings Recipes

Who doesn’t like chicken wings? I for one am crazy over it. These crispy, sweet and sticky wings are addictive. The hint of ginger and a bit of chili flakes compliments really well with the wings. This was indeed a finger licking good. Even Carlos who is not a big fan of wings ate a whole lot of it. If you like wings do give this recipe a try and I am sure you will not be disappointed.

Ingredients:

12 chicken wings – clean, cut and tips removed

Marinate for the wings:

1 tbsp of ginger juice
3/4 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

Coating:

1 egg
3 tbsp flour
2 tbsp cornstarch

Sweet Sauce

½ cup water
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp grated ginger
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
Some chili flakes
Some toasted sesame for garnish

1. Marinate the chicken wings for at least 2 hours. Combined both flour and mix well. Add in the beaten egg to the wings follows by the flour. Mix it with your hand until they’re thoroughly coated.
2. Heat up some oil and deep fry the wings over medium high heat in two batches (do not overcrowd it or else you wings won’t be crispy) until golden brown. Remove and drain well on paper towel.
3. In another large pan, combined water, sugar, honey, soy sauce, ginger and vinegar. Bring it up to a boil and cook until the mixture becomes thick and syrupy or until it started to foam (it should be thick like honey)
4. Turn off the heat; add in the fried wings, sesame seeds and chili flakes. Stir and toss until the sauce completely coated the wings. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Lobster Rolls Recipes

Our neighbor Nancy gave us some lobsters last week. I decided to make some lobster rolls out of it. This classic New England lobster rolls, a basic hot dog bun filled with lobster salad. There are no fancy seasonings here; the lobster is showcased of this rolls. It is just a simple mayonnaise dressing with a bit of lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked lobster meat – cut into bite size pieces (3 lobsters)
¼ cup low fat mayonnaise
¼ cup finely diced celery
1 spring onion – finely diced
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
A few dash of hot sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
2 hot dog buns
A few leaves of lettuce

1. Combined all the ingredients except for the buns and lettuce leaves. Mix well.
2. Lightly toast the hot dog buns on a non stick frying pan.
3. Lay some lettuce on the buns and fill it up with the lobster mix. Serve immediately.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes Recipes

If there is a choice between French fries or sweet potato fries I will definitely pick the latter. But not many restaurants serve this so I will normally make it myself. I baked this instead of frying it so it's much healthier. The baked sweet potato wedges might not be as crispy as the fried one but they tasted just as good. They are slightly crispy on the outside and sweet and soft on the inside. I like serving this with a mix of mayo and ketchup.

Ingredients:

2 pounds sweet potatoes – about 3 large ones
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp paprika (or any type of spices of your choice)

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degree F. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut the potatoes into long wedges.
2. Put the sweet potatoes in a large bowl and add in the oil, salt, pepper and paprika. Mix well.
3. Line a baking pan with aluminum foil; spread the sweet potatoes out on a single layer on the baking pan.
4. Bake for 30 minutes, turning them after 15 minutes and bake them until soft and golden brown.
5. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

Note: The baking time depends on how thick you cut your wedges. If you like to add extra sweetness and caramelization to your sweet potatoes, you can always add a tsp of sugar to to the seasonings.

Corn Fritters Recipes

I made these sometime ago when corns were at their peak during summer. I will usually grill or boil it but this time I made some fritters out of it. I used a bit of oil to pan fried them in a non stick pan and it turn out more like a pancakes. The fritters were crispy on the edges and tender in the middle. We had this with my homemade chili sauce.

Ingredients:

2 cups corn kernels
1/2 cup chopped shrimps
1 egg
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 small onion
¼ cup chopped cilantro
4 spring onions – chopped
2 red chilies – chopped
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp turmeric powder
Salt and pepper to taste
enough water to hold the batter together

1. Put one cup of corn kernels, shrimps, and onions in a food processor. Give it a few pulses until all ingredients are roughly chopped. Remove to a mixing bowl.
2. Add in all the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Set it aside to rest for 15 minutes.
3. Heat up some vegetable oil (just enough oil) to coat the bottom of a non stick frying pan. Drop 1 tbsp of batter into the pan. Fry both side of the fritters until golden brown (about 2 minute per side).
4. Transfer fritters to paper towels to drain the oil. Serve immediately with some chili sauce.

Mushroom, Tomato and Camembert Tarts Recipes

Marcus of Ile De France sent me a sample of Camembert to try out. This mild soft and creamy cheese which has a wonderful aromatic mushrooms and nutty undertones is crafted in Normandy from local RBST free pasteurized cow milk. The herds spend most of their time outside, grazing in the fields of Normandy; known for its temperate climate and rich soil.

I made these wonderful tarts with the mushroom and tomato and pair it with the camembert. The combination of flavors is just great and this one is a real winner. Why not try this out for your coming Thanksgiving gathering or Christmas party. I am pretty sure it will be a crowd pleaser.

Ingredients for pastry

2 cups all-purpose flour
10 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 tsp of salt
6 tbsp ice water (more or less)

1. Pulse in a food processor the flour, butter, and salt just until the mixture resembles a coarse meal with some small (pea-size) butter lumps.
2. Slowly drizzle in the ice-water, one tbsp at a time. Squeeze a small handful of the dough, if it doesn’t hold together; add more ice water. Do not overwork the dough, or the crust will be tough.
3. Turn the dough out onto a work surface. Gather the all dough together and wrap it up with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for an hour.

Ingredients for Filling

1 pound of button mushroom – wipes with a wet paper towel and slice thinly
2 shallots – sliced thinly
1 clove garlic – chopped
3 tomatoes – slice thinly
4 slices of roasted turkey - cut small
1 cup milk
3 eggs
4 oz of Camembert cheese – slice and cut into cubes
Salt and pepper to taste
Some chopped parsley for garnish

1. Heat up about 2 tbsp of olive oil in a sauté pan. Add in turkey, shallots and garlic. Sauté until fragrant and lightly brown.
2. Add in the sliced mushrooms and continue to sauté until lightly brown and the mushroom liquid evaporated. Season with some salt and pepper. Dish out and let it cool down slightly.
3. Lightly whisk eggs and milk until combined. Add in some salt and pepper to taste and set it aside.
4. Roll out the pastry and line it on the tart pans. Divide the mushroom equally among the tart shells. Top it with the cheese and slice tomatoes. Pour the custard mixture into the shells.
5. Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 35 minutes or until brown.

Parsley and Garlic Knots Recipes

These piping hot knots are pizzeria classic and are unbelievingly addictive. They are called "knots" due to their shape resembling that of a square knot and about the size of a golf ball. They are chewy, garlicky and loaded with fresh parsley. I actually forgot to sprinkle some parmesan cheese to it but even without them they are still good. If you're tired and busy and just don't have time to make your own dough you can always buy some dough from your favorite pizza joint or even buy the frozen dough from the grocery store. You can either brush the garlic coating on before baking or like me I just tossed it in after I baked the bread. Either way they will be good.

For the dough:
Recipe adpated from King Arthur Flour with some changes.

3 cups bread flour
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. dried yeast
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp. olive oil
¼ cup milk
1 cup lukewarm water (you might need 1-2 tbsp more)


Parsley and Garlic Coating:

2 cloves garlic - chopped
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp chopped parsley
Some salt

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the dry ingredients. Add the olive oil, milk and water. Mix until ingredients until it form into a ball.
2. Switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turn once to coat, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
3. Divide the dough into 15 -17 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope and tie into a knot, take the end lying underneath the knot and bring it over to the top and tuck it into the center and take the other end lying over the knot and tuck it underneath and into the center.
4. Put the knot in a baking sheet lined with some parchment paper. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and set it aside to rise for about 30 minutes. In the meantime prepare the garlic herb. Heat up the frying pan over medium; add in the olive oil and garlic. Once the garlic is lightly brown add in the chopped parsley. Continue to stir for a minute and remove from heat and set it aside.

5. Baked in a pre-heated 400 degree F oven for 15-20 minutes or until nicely brown. Once the bread is done, put it in a mixing bowl and toss in the salt, garlic and parsley mixture. Toss until all the knots are well coated.
6. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I am submitting this bread to Yeastspotting

Zucchini Fritters Recipes

Summer is here and so is zucchini. You can see zucchini everywhere and they are really cheap too. There are so many different ways to eat a zucchini and I have had it stir-fried , cooked vegetable curry and make into zucchini pancakes . My neighbor Nancy gave me a few of it and I have been contemplating for a few days on what to make out of it. Carlos is not a fan of Zucchini and if I cook with it I will always end up eating it all by myself but this fritters totally changes his mind about zucchini. He absolutely loves it. The fritters were crispy on the edge with a delicate soft center. This is a very simple recipe that comes together relatively quickly.



Ingredients:

1 Ib of zucchini, grated
2 eggs
2 cloves garlic – finely chopped
2 shallots – finely sliced
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup flour
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
1 tsp chili flakes (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Place grated zucchini in a tea towel and squeeze to remove the liquid; discard liquid.
2. In a large mixing bowl whisk egg. Add zucchini, garlic, shallots, flour, and panko, chili flakes and parmesan cheese. Mix until well combined. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Heat a bit of vegetable oil in a non-stick frying pan. Drop about 2 tbsp of batter into the frying pan; flatten it lightly with a spatula.
4. Pan fried fritters on each side for about 4-5 minutes, until browned. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to drain the oil. Serve warm or at room temperature with some marinara sauce.

Falafel Recipes

Falafel is a fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas/garbanzo beans. The Egyptians variety uses fava beans while chickpeas are commonly used in other Middles Eastern countries. Falafel is usually served in a pita which acts as a pocket or wrapped in flat bread known as lafa. It is topped with salads, pickle vegetables and hot sauce, and drizzle with tahini based sauce. Falafel balls may also be eaten alone as snacks. It has great source of protein, complex carbohydrates and fiber. It is hearty enough to replace hamburger patties and meatballs in vegetarian dishes. Besides frying you can also baked it but by doing so it will alter the texture and flavor of the falafel. We just eat this with some spicy chili sauce as I am too lazy to make some tahini dipping sauce.

Ingredients:

6 oz dried chickpeas
1 small onion, roughly chopped
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
4 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp dried hot pepper flakes
3 cloves of garlic
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp baking powder
Salt to taste
5-6 tbsp of flour

1. Wash and soak chickpeas overnight. Place the drained, uncooked chickpeas and the onions in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the parsley, cilantro, salt, hot pepper, garlic, and cumin. Process until blended but not pureed.
2. Sprinkle in the baking powder and 4 tablespoons of the flour, and pulse. You want to add enough flour so that the dough will forms a small ball and no longer sticks to your hands. Turn into a bowl and refrigerate, covered for an hour.
4. Form the chickpea mixture into small. Heat 3 inches of oil to 375 degrees F in a deep pot or wok and fry 1 ball to test. If it falls apart, add a little bit more flour.
5. Then fry the balls for a few minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with a bit of salt on the balls and serve warm or at room temperature with some chili sauce.

Note: You can serve the falafel with Pita bread. Just stuff half a pita with falafel balls, add some chopped tomatoes, onion, green pepper, and pickled turnips. Drizzle with some tahini sauce.

Pizza Cups Recipes

I received some cheese sample from Marcus of Ile De France and Carlos absolutely loved it. I didn’t nickname his Cheese Monster for nothing. He just loves his cheeses. I am actually pretty familiar with Ile De France cheeses as I am able to get from the supermarkets here but if you can’t you can always get in online. Ile de France Cheese has been importing gourmet French brie, goat cheese and camembert since 1936. They were the first importer of French brie to the United States. The company uses the Ile de France name to promote Ile de France brand cheeses as well as other types of gourmet-quality French cheese that are sold under different labels and owned by the same parent company.



Besides eating the cheeses with fresh fruits and crackers I used some of the Brie cheese to make these Pizza Cups. I just love the gooey and oozy brie when they just came out of the oven. They are simply divine. What a great alternative to the usual mozzarella cheese.

Pizza dough ingredients:

1 packet/7 gram dry yeast
¾ cups of warm water – about 110 degree F
2 cups + 2 tbsp of bread flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar

For Filling:

1 cup of cooked chicken (I used leftover roast chicken)
1/4 cup olives – sliced small
½ small onion – cut into small cubes
1 cup marinara sauce

Pepper to taste
½ cup grated cheddar
Some sliced Brie for topping
Some sliced basil for garnish

1. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. Let it stand about 10 minutes or until frothy.
2. In a large bowl combined the flour, olive oil and salt. Stir in the yeast mixture into the flour mixture. Knead it into smooth dough. (you might need to add another 2 tbsp of flour to it). Cover and let it rise to double in volume.
3. In the meantime, combined cooked chicken, olives, onions, cheddar, pepper and marinara sauce in a mixing bowl. Mix well.
4. Get ready a muffin pan. Greased with some melted butter. In a working table, dust with some flour. Roll out the pizza dough and cut out the dough to fit into your muffin pan.
5. Fill it up with the fillings, and top it with a slice of brie. Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven until the pizza cups are bubbly and brown. Garnish it with some basil. Let the pizza cups cool down a bit on the muffin pan before removing it. Serve warm or at room temperature.

P/s You can replace the cooked chicken with any type of protein and so is the cheese.

Simple Herb and Garlic Breadsticks Recipes

I had never made breadsticks before but once I started thinking about them I couldn't get them out of my head. So I set out to make something really easy and simple. By the way did you notice I like to make easy and simple food ha ha… that shows how lazy I am to make anything elaborate. Anyway, I don’t feel like making the bread from scratch so I just used the store bought dough. I must say the breadsticks turn out really soft and garlicky and it is lovely dipped into soup or side dish to any meal.

Ingredients:

1 tube of breadstick dough
1 tbsp of melted butter
1 tbsp of olive oil
2 cloves of chopped garlic
1 tbsp of chopped herbs (thymes, rosemary and oregano)
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Combined all the ingredients except the bread dough in a small bowl. Mix well.
3. Take out the breadsticks dough out of the tube, unroll it and separate the dough. Take a strip of the dough, brush it with the garlic mixture on one side of the dough. Take both ends of the dough and twist it.
4. Place the twist on the baking sheet. Do the same to the rest of the bread dough.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Honey BBQ Chicken Wings Recipes

Carlos Company gave me a deep fryer a few years ago but I never thought of using it until now. I finally put it to good used and fried these chicken wings with it. I know this is not the healthiest dish to serve but hey life it short. We need to indulge ourselves once a while. Put aside the health implications of fried food, there is nothing much that beats crispy deep fried wings.

Ingredients:

20 chicken wings- clean, cut and tips removed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
½ garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1 cup flour

Sauce:

1 cup of barbecue sauce of your choice
2 tbsp Sriracha chili sauce or any kind of chili sauce (optional)
3 tbsp honey (more if you like it sweater)

1. Marinate the wings with salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika for an hour.
2. Heat up the oil to about 350 degree F in a deep fryer, or you can use a deep heavy skillet with enough oil to fry the wings.
3. Lightly coat it with the flour. Fry the wings in batches until they’re golden brown and crispy.
4. In a small saucepan, heat up the BBQ sauce, chili sauce and honey. Once the wings is done toss it with some BBQ sauce. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Note: I over-fried the wings a bit that is why the color was a bit dark to my liking.

Tuna Patties Recipes

I am not a fan of canned food but I have to say that canned tuna do save the day when you want make something quick. This is one tasty way of eating can tuna. Tuna fish is an excellent source of protein and lower in fat than red meat. I like making this type of patties especially during the weekends where I am not up to cooking anything elaborate. Even Carlos loves these tasty patties. I normally served this with some salad but you can even serve this like a burger.

Ingredients:

1 can of tuna (about 7 oz)
1 Idaho potato – boiled and mashed
A handful of cilantro – finely chopped (you can use spring onions)
1 small shallot – finely chopped
1 small egg
1 tsp of mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Open the can tuna and drain all the water out. Put the tuna in a bowl and add in all the rest of the ingredients.
2. Mix everything together until well combined. Make into patties. The size depends on how big you want the patties to be.
3. Heat up a skillet with some olive oil. Pan fried the patties until golden brown on both side.
4. Serve warm or at room temperature with some tartar sauce or chili sauce.

Note: There are times I will replaced the mashed potato with ¾ cup of breadcrumbs and the patties tasted just as good.

Turkey Pasties Recipes

Pasties are very popular throughout Cornwall, Devon, Wales, North East England, other parts of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Brittany. The traditional pasty is filled with beef, sliced potato, turnip and onion. The wonderful aspect about pasties is that you can use any kind of fillings from meat and potatoes to cheese and vegetables. I made these pasties with my leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. Since I have leftovers roasted potatoes and gravy I add to it too.

Pastry:

2 1/2 cup flour
1 1/4 sticks/10 tbsp cold butter (cut into bits)
1 tsp of salt
4-5 tbsp. water

1. In a food processor combine flour, butter and salt. Pulse the ingredients until well combined and slowly add water, one tablespoon at a time to form dough.
2. Remove the dough and lightly knead to form a ball. Let the dough rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Filling:
2 cups cut roast turkey
1 cup of roasted potato
½ cup of gravy
¼ cup or cut olives
½ tsp pepper

1. Combine all the filling ingredients in bowl and set it aside.
2. Divide the dough into 6-7 pieces, and roll the dough into circle on a lightly floured surface to about ¼” thick.
3. Put ¼ cup of the filling into the center of the pastry. Moisten the edges with some water, fold into half and crimp to seal.
4. Place on a lined baking sheet and brush lightly with egg wash. Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree F oven until golden brown.